Beginning January 1, 2018, new migratory regulations approved in October of 2017, become effective as part of a continuing, irreversible process of updating, that has been underway since January of 2013. Among the changes, eliminated was "Habilitación," a passport authorization process previously required of émigrés wishing to travel to Cuba, while Cuban citizens resident abroad may now enter and exit the country on recreational boats, via the Hemingway and Gaviota-Varadero International Marinas.
Likewise established was permission for all Cuban citizens who left illegally to re-enter the country, with the exception of those who did so via the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo, as well as elimination of the "avecindamiento" requirement (residence in Cuba for 90 days) to obtain Cuban citizenship and identification documents for children who were born outside the country, to Cuban parents resident abroad.
The new measures did not eliminate the requirement that everyone born in Cuba, who has acquired citizenship in another country, travel to the island with a Cuban passport.
Also clarified was the fact that "habilitación" and extension are not the same thing; and regulations governing the latter remain in place. According to current legislation, a passport is valid for two years and may be extended for two years twice, for a total of six years. "Habilitación" was a requirement for Cuban émigrés with no limitations on travel to Cuba. Its elimination benefits more than 823,000 persons.
Not affected by these changes are doctors and others professionals who abandoned their missions abroad, since they left the country legally. The Ministry of Public Health announced in September of 2015 that those who wish to rejoin the National Public Health System could do so in conditions similar to those they had previously.
These decisions are part of an effort by the country to further strengthen relations with our émigré community, a process which was begun in 1978 by Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz.
As this process is moving forward in Cuba, the U.S. government has decided to drastically reduce personnel at its embassy in Havana and suspend the issuing of visas by its consulate, which has had a negative impact on Cuban families and those who wish to emigrate. This move was accompanied by the unfounded and arbitrary decision to expel from the United States 17 staff members of the Cuban embassy in Washington, including a large part of the consulate's personnel, which has limited consular services.
